Arlington Officials Agree To Help Build $1 Billion Stadium For Texas Rangers

ARLINGTON, TX -- To keep the Texas Rangers baseball team in Arlington, city officials have agreed to build them a new $1 billion stadium. That's not a typo: The facility featuring a retractable roof will cost that much to build -- with half the cost footed by taxpayers.

In a Friday press conference, Arlington Mayor W. Jeff Williams confirmed plans for the new facility. He was joined by Ray Davis, the ball club's co-chairman.

A vote will be necessary to enact half of the financing scheme to build the ginormous field of dreams. It will derive from a 0.5 percent sales tax surcharge, a 2 percent hotel tax surcharge and a 5 percent car rental tax surcharge that the Dallas Cowboys are currently using to pay off their own $1.2 billion-dollar stadium also located in Arlington.

At the press conference announcing the plans, the mayor spoke of the stadium as if it were a foregone conclusion, but voters will decide whether they want to foot half the bill in November.

"So many times here in Arlington, we've had those dreams, and we've made it happen," Williams said. "We haven't just talked about it, we've made it happen."

Then, the formal announcement: "The Texas Rangers have chosen to stay in Arlington, Texas," Williams said to those gathered, some of whom burst into spontaneous applause. "Isn't that awesome?"

The agreement the city struck with the Rangers keeps the ball club in the city until 2054, the mayor said. The plan's approval was contingent on city officials agreeing to proceed with Texas Live!, a $200 million mixed-use project surrounding the existing Globe Life Park facility where the baseball team now plays.

"A big step in being proactive was getting the Texas Live! process done," the mayor said. "Texas Live! is going to include a world-class entertainment venue much like the St. Louis ballpark village, along with a 300-room, upscale hotel which has been the vision of our community for decades to get developed going there by the ballpark."

The mayor said he expects construction on the Texas Live! project to begin this fall.

The Rangers' Davis explained why the need is there for a new baseball stadium.

"Why a new ballpark? Why the need for a retractable, climate-controlled stadium?" he asked rhetorically. "We've looked at options to add to our current park. It's too expensive, and we wouldn't have any place to play while they were putting a top over our existing ballpark."

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